Good morning. This weekend I
am engaged in extensive sessions with members of my National Security
Council, as we plan a comprehensive assault on terrorism. This will be a
different kind of conflict against a different kind of enemy.

This is a conflict without
battlefields or beachheads, a conflict with opponents who believe they
are invisible. Yet, they are mistaken. They will be exposed, and they
will discover what others in the past have learned: Those who make war
against the United States have chosen their own destruction. Victory
against terrorism will not take place in a single battle, but in a
series of decisive actions against terrorist organizations and those who
harbor and support them.

We are planning a broad and
sustained campaign to secure our country and eradicate the evil of
terrorism. And we are determined to see this conflict through. Americans
of every faith and background are committed to this goal.

Yesterday
I visited the site
of the destruction in New York City and saw an amazing spirit of
sacrifice and patriotism and defiance. I met with rescuers who have
worked past exhaustion, who cheered for our country and the great cause
we have entered.

In Washington, D.C., the
political parties and both Houses of Congress have shown a remarkable
unity, and I'm deeply grateful. A terrorist attack designed to tear us
apart has instead bound us together as a nation. Over the past few days,
we have learned much about American courage -- the courage of
firefighters and police officers who suffered so great a loss, the
courage of passengers aboard
United 93 who may well have fought with the
hijackers and saved many lives on the ground.

Now we honor those who died,
and prepare to respond to these attacks on our nation. I will not settle
for a token act. Our response must be sweeping, sustained, and
effective. We have much do to, and much to ask of the American people.

You will be asked for your
patience -- for the conflict will not be short. You will be asked for
resolve -- for the conflict will not be easy. You will be asked for your
strength, because the course to victory may be long.

In the past week, we have
seen the American people at their very best everywhere in
America. Citizens have come together to pray, to give blood, to fly our
country's flag. Americans are coming together to share their grief and
gain strength from one another.

Great tragedy has come to
us, and we are meeting it with the best that is in our country, with
courage and concern for others: because this is America. This is who we
are. This is what our enemies hate and have attacked. And this is why we
will prevail.